Is Windows Phone becoming android?

[spaulagain]

There are two different kind of WP users, those who fell in love in WP7 and those who came after. I am of the former. There was so much thought put into its design and the result was very eye-opening in terms of what a UI can be/look like. I keep the different iterations of metro designs that still inspire me to make the UI of my apps the best they can be because of this attention to details they promoted and still promote in the design section of the windows phone dev center. I'm not a designer but they helped me a lot for being consistently preaching the same design aspects (grid, animation, content over chrome, don't be afraid of whitespaces, etc)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD8MqWvARfA

Unfortunately everything radically changed in WP8.1. You can actually see irregularities in almost every first party app designs as if they came from different groups. They probably are but in previous versions of WP, the choices of font sizes/weights, margins, animations are all consistent let it be the music app, the store, the people hub, the photo hub, the game hub. Now I look at my Lumia 920 and wished Satya fire everyone working on the XBOX Music and Facebook app. The capitalization of Store annoys me a lot (xbox games, music, podcast are all small letters. WTH Microsoft?). Some apps still uses the old "turnstile" animation while others already changed to the new animation. I can't follow a trend where anything and everything goes. It doesn't reflect the One Microsoft vision at all.

Sadly the new vision for WP is not about the design differentiation anymore (RIP metro) but more like "We have that app too". I can see that they are trying to get some market share from Android but I can't be happy with the state that WP8.1 is in right now as I can't lie to myself that I still like Windows Phone like I used to. But we don't have much choice do we? iOS or Android? I guess iOS is better in terms of aesthetics but developing for iOS is a pain in the back.

Ya,the new People hub is hideous. I don't mind that they switched to the smaller head title. But it's actually wrong. The letter tracking on the "people" title is too tight. They should have matched how its done in "Group hubs"

 

[malih]

I agree, Whatsapp, LINE, Skype is slow to load... but opening Messaging Hub is fast, imagine if those apps integrate to the Messaging hub.
It shouldn't be limited to just Messaging Hub, there's Photo Hub and what not.

Microsoft should think of a way to improve and extend this Hub concept, which seems like what they were going to do, but didn't.
I'm not sure how, but someone at Microsoft whose job is doing research and development for this specific OS should know better.

With that said, the only other alternative for me is the pricey iPhone, I don't really like Android,
so I'll give Microsoft one more chance this year, I trust Microsoft to do the right thing, especially with their Nadella focus on mobile.

 

[colinkiama]

I agree, Whatsapp, LINE, Skype is slow to load... but opening Messaging Hub is fast, imagine if those apps integrate to the Messaging hub.
It shouldn't be limited to just Messaging Hub, there's Photo Hub and what not.

Microsoft should think of a way to improve and extend this Hub concept, which seems like what they were going to do, but didn't.
I'm not sure how, but someone at Microsoft whose job is doing research and development for this specific OS should know better.

With that said, the only other alternative for me is the pricey iPhone, I don't really like Android,
so I'll give Microsoft one more chance this year, I trust Microsoft to do the right thing, especially with their Nadella focus on mobile.

Yeah, I'm also giving Microsoft one more chance this year. I was gonna switch until 8.1 came, it gave me new hope.

 

[winboy]

Nope not at all. I just switched from Android and I'm so glad I made the switch!

 

[JamesPTao]

I agree, Whatsapp, LINE, Skype is slow to load... but opening Messaging Hub is fast, imagine if those apps integrate to the Messaging hub.
It shouldn't be limited to just Messaging Hub, there's Photo Hub and what not.

Microsoft should think of a way to improve and extend this Hub concept, which seems like what they were going to do, but didn't.
I'm not sure how, but someone at Microsoft whose job is doing research and development for this specific OS should know better.

With that said, the only other alternative for me is the pricey iPhone, I don't really like Android,
so I'll give Microsoft one more chance this year, I trust Microsoft to do the right thing, especially with their Nadella focus on mobile.

They have mentioned that they took facebook out of me tile settings and messaging app because it was too much work for them to update the os every time facebook, twitter, or any other service changed their site. It will all come back the thing is its setup now to where the app itself will tie itself in so that facebook, twitter, ECT will continue to work as they are updated with less work on Microsoft's end. The apps just havent updated to take advantage of thus yet.

 

[AngrySprintUser]

To answer the OP, no it's WP

 

[Trench Mouth]

I need a tissue after reading the op,

 

[Kaye Morales]

Too much downgrade they've done after 8.1. I got so excited about the update only to get disappointed. The only thing I like is notification center. The rest, blah. Look at music hub, GAMES, people hub, photos hub. I still think iPhone's camera is still better. They remove what WP has to offer that iOS and Android can't. I'm done waiting and ready to give up this phone. I can't wait another year for just a minor update that the other platforms already have years ago. I regret buying one.

 

[chezm]

While I can understand some of what the OP said, a little dramatic as it may be, good luck with iPhone. Sure, the integration that made WP stand out originally has been deconstructed to a less social oriented device... it was nice to have a social ecosystem. However, if MS has stated in order to continue overhauling WP as need be (not being dependent on a FULL GDR release for Music, Game updates, etch) and much faster, I'm taking the aggressive updating, thanks.

In order to compete with the Android and iPhone, they needed to reconstruct the foundation which means dismantling the social integration. The bonus is 8.1 allows the integration to be applied, just by the developer instead. The ability for integration is still there, developers will utilize once WP establish a proper market share which is MS's goal right now. They bought Nokia and made the choices for a reason, it seems as though the new "MS" is more focused and prepared to be a real competitor.

Ive got back to WP beginning of May, before it was an iPhone 5S which I gave to my wife and traded her iP5 + cash for a 1020. iOS7 while nice and I'm sure iOS8 will add some missed features, but WP even in its catch up state is better than iOS...im sorry, ya that's my personal opinion. Used the 5S for 7 months, solid phone but I felt like I was using my first smartphone, 3G! Hey its not for me, others love it and I get it.

Is WP becoming android? I personally do not think so, I'm sure they'd like to have the market share but they were late to the game and needed the universal app across all platforms ready, a reason for developers to support Windows 8 (which is doing pretty decent) and easily support WP. At the end of the day I am bored of iPhone and Android was not my cup of tea (just don't like my phone being a portable computer, prefer the locked down OS), WP is my fav option (I have a BB for work, no thanks) so I'm supporting MS until the next TRUE advancement in mobile comes around. Right now I've got the phone with the best camera and my fav OS, things are looking uo for chex!

 

[Maaz Mansori]

After reading several posts after mine from yesterday I'm still disagreeing that Windows Phone is becoming Android. Android manufacturers, especially Samsung, have tried to replicate the iPhone experience on Android but offer low cost versions and a variety of devices with different hardware specs and screen sizes as an attempt to offer a more flexible version of the iPhone. Microsoft did not try to copy the iPhone, or Android for that matter. There are still standards that need to be met for Windows Phone, even if they are slightly less than in the past. The live tiles are still there, as Office and really everything except for some of the Facebook integration and a couple of hubs. As I've said before, Microsoft needed the ability to update these on a more regular basis instead of doing an OS update and then waiting for the carriers to approve it. Facebook makes a change on their end and we lose features for weeks at a time and some things have never worked well due to Facebook recognizing WP integration as a third party app. The new apps offer a similar experience with the primary exception is that they take an extra half a second or so to open. Honestly it's barely noticeable on my 1520. Things will improve as phone manufacturers update firmware, Microsoft optimizes WP, and hardware specs improve. Windows Phone is becoming more flexible like Windows Mobile was, and Windows Mobile phones were around long before Android phones. The only other thing is that a lot of user requested features have been added and many of these features were already in iPhone and Android. However, this discussion is about UI changes/improvements, the loss of some integration, and the removal of some of the hubs. I'm not seeing how any of these were done in an attempt to copy Android because the WP UI is nothing like Android's.

 

[JamesDax]

No! What a stupid question.

 

[paras chugh]

i TOTALLY agree with you bro and the always-on info bar at top that you stated is annoying me a lot and making it look like android with the screen space being jumbled up with info and losing its original beautiful animations......backgrounds in all the hubs too are missed....apps like facebook looked better in their old metro form instead of these generic ones

 

[crystal_planet]

To answer your question: "No."

About the people hub - funny, that. Pre - 8.1 there was quite a bit of talk about how useless the people hub was and how much everyone wanted a better Facebook app - so they could dump the people hub entirely. Now - it was the greatest part of the o/s and why oh why was it butchered so badly? *Much gnashing of teeth ensues*. I always liked the people hub and I do miss it terribly - but I'm not going to stomp my "widdle feet" over it. The o/s is still excellent.

For those of you with Nokias and are hard done by 8.1 - you know you can roll back to 8.0, right?

As for the rest, well, what can I say? All you had to do was wait a week, read the complaints and thank your lucky stars you dodged a bullet by not enrolling in the developer preview. Seriously, you had to enroll into a program to have access to what is essentially beta software - you have no excuse for not waiting or abstaining altogether you know.

 

[Pierre Blackwell]

Speaking as a WP7 user, I'm loving WP8.1. Are there thing I miss. Of course. The change of the people hub was necessary as someone so eloquently described it. App developers like Facebook can now update their app without the integration being shut down weeks at a time. Most of the changes were cosmetic and didn't take away from what WP is. People are complaining about WP being more like Android, yet are still using WP8.1 . WP is being geared towards universal apps so they will take a little longer loading. There was no radio on the old xbox music app which I pretty nice. I actually think transparent tiles really add an optic element to the start screen. Those that really feel alienated by WP will leave, and dance with Android. I look at my L1520 and see how things have changed since my HTC Trophy four years ago. One thing I can still tell from first glance is what a WP looks like. The world is starting to notice. More so in Europe but its the fastest growing ecosystem for a reason.

 

[fatclue_98]

To answer your question: "No."

About the people hub - funny, that. Pre - 8.1 there was quite a bit of talk about how useless the people hub was and how much everyone wanted a better Facebook app - so they could dump the people hub entirely. Now - it was the greatest part of the o/s and why oh why was it butchered so badly? *Much gnashing of teeth ensues*. I always liked the people hub and I do miss it terribly - but I'm not going to stomp my "widdle feet" over it. The o/s is still excellent.

For those of you with Nokias and are hard done by 8.1 - you know you can roll back to 8.0, right?

As for the rest, well, what can I say? All you had to do was wait a week, read the complaints and thank your lucky stars you dodged a bullet by not enrolling in the developer preview. Seriously, you had to enroll into a program to have access to what is essentially beta software - you have no excuse for not waiting or abstaining altogether you know.

I think there was enough coverage detailing what was coming on 8.1. Anybody who's complaining has no right to do so unless they purchased a used phone that had already been upgraded and not mentioned. Those who don't research their purchases or voluntarily take part in beta get what they deserve. I've seen some posts by people complaining that capitalization is not consistent or headers that were are lower case now. Are you kiddin' me? A real problem is having MMS broken like my ATIV S Neo or the camera bug. I'm hoping they get fixed by Samsung but if they don't I've already found a temporary workaround with Viber. It's not ideal but I can live with it for another 5 weeks. So much moaning since WP7 about the lack of a notification center. Now we have one and WP8 has lost its mojo. Playa' please.

 

[Bizarro_Prime]

it introduced a concept of a os having all the functionality you need

Symbian did this.

 

[colinkiama]

Symbian did this.

Symbian did everything

 

[tapehead]

To answer your question: "No."

About the people hub - funny, that. Pre - 8.1 there was quite a bit of talk about how useless the people hub was and how much everyone wanted a better Facebook app - so they could dump the people hub entirely. Now - it was the greatest part of the o/s and why oh why was it butchered so badly? *Much gnashing of teeth ensues*. I always liked the people hub and I do miss it terribly - but I'm not going to stomp my "widdle feet" over it. The o/s is still excellent.

For those of you with Nokias and are hard done by 8.1 - you know you can roll back to 8.0, right?

As for the rest, well, what can I say? All you had to do was wait a week, read the complaints and thank your lucky stars you dodged a bullet by not enrolling in the developer preview. Seriously, you had to enroll into a program to have access to what is essentially beta software - you have no excuse for not waiting or abstaining altogether you know.

I've got a biiiig problem with post. This is not about bugs or problems within 8.1. Those will eventually be smoothed out the way they were in the 8. However, 8.1 functions differently on a fundamental level when compared to 7, 7.5, and 8. This new direction Microsoft is taking their operating system is not one that delights many fans. People can't just stay on 8 forever and expect to get the same benefits.

8.1 is officially released, and it is the future of Windows Phone. Those of us who don't like this new direction are jumping ship. Downgrading to 8 will only delay inevitable. All the fun of owning a Windows Phone, including the stellar social integration, has been thrown out in favor of an app-centric methodology. It's true that 3rd party apps may take advantage of the Me Tile and social integration in the future, but given how most 3rd party developers and companies don't give the smallest crap about this platform, what makes you so sure that that's going to happen? If Microsoft wants to dig its own grave, fine. But if they are going to take away the things that made WP more appealing than the competition, why wouldn't somebody go to Android or iPhone at this stage in the game? If Microsoft is going for a more Android-esque feel, we might as well have an Android phone given the app selection.

This has nothing to do with 8.1 previously having a "developer preview" status. It's a live OS on the Lumia 630, currently being sold in India and the UK. This is the future of Windows Phone. It's inevitable.

And you really needn't compare us to infants when you act as one yourself.

 

[a5cent]

[WARN]This thread is headed towards a brick wall.

If a point can't stand on its own, without having to put people with the opposite view down, then the point isn't worth making.[/WARN]

 

[SSgt Bruskowiz]

@5cent
Here is my two cents...i think your right.
I am out of here